The Potential Of Logic’s ‘Everybody’ Knows No Bounds

When Logic visited The Breakfast Club for the first time in 2014, his quiet confidence was mixed with the inevitable wariness of a young, polite and relatively unknown XXL Freshman under scrutiny. Although he didn’t hide who he truly was, there was slight discomfort about his demeanour which doesn’t match up with the feel of the Maryland rapper with over a billion streams that we know in 2017. In the early years of his rise to stardom, Logic would often have to correct interviewers, critics and even fans who safely assumed (or so they thought,) that he was a “white rapper”. The case of the biracial rapper in Hip-Hop today is no rarity and most are unanimously considered black because they identify with the way they were treated. But for Logic, it can never be quite so simple.

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The story of his immediate family is impossible to gloss over. His sisters were raped, one of his brothers sold crack to his father and he faced racial abuse from his own mother from an innocent, young age. Through the darkest of times, Logic found solitude in the black side of his family who recognised the fact that he was just like them on the inside. However, after stepping outside into the real world, he was forced to deal with the harshness of reality which is present even today. “Black folk who don’t realise I’m mixed will treat me like I’m some racist person” he told Nick Huff of Hard Knock TV.

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This Friday, Logic will release his third album Everybody. The original name for the forthcoming body of work was AfricAryaN and the announcement of this title immediately had people intrigued or offended. Never one to submit to short term criticism, Logic has made it clear that the reaction isn’t part of the reason why he changed the name of the album. The final track on the LP is actually called ‘AfricAryaN’ and the concept of unity will remain.

Logic is in the extremely unique position of being a victim of racism from both black people and white people. Not only has he been looked down on from both sides, but he has benefitted from white privilege before and is accepted in Hip-Hop largely because his father is black. Rather than feel sorry for himself, he has decided to use these experiences to his advantage and has continually rapped about peace, love and positivity in his career. His outlook’s effect will culminate with this next project, the potential of which has no boundaries.

Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp A Butterfly attacks topics like skin complexion, police brutality and gang violence. Whereas it’s considered a classic by most, there is a small, well voiced section of fans it alienates if not because of Kendrick’s militancy and lack of censorship, then because of the jazz-influenced production, ironically the same reasons many love it. The VMG frontman’s one of a kind stance helps him reach a more diverse if not larger group of individuals who need to hear the same messages. How does a song about police brutality sound from someone who looks white but is just as black as they are white? How does someone maneuverer through an industry who they know treats them better because of a misconception? Topics like the aforementioned have been touched on, but never from someone in such a unique position.

With the correct execution on Everybody, Logic can complete his transition from the half-shy rapper who is constantly made to explain himself to the unapologetic MC with his feet firmly planted at the top.